Consumer appliances such as compact disc (CD) players, digital cameras, mobile telephones, and the like are often configured for powering with household alternating current (AC) through use of a power supply or “adapter” that converts the AC power into direct current (DC) power that the appliance can use. Such power adapters typically comprise a cord that includes a wall plug, a power converter unit, and a further cord that includes a connector that is adapted for receipt by the consumer appliance. In addition to converting (i.e., transforming) the AC power into DC power, the power converter unit further controls the provision of voltage and current to the appliance to ensure that its operational requirements are met.
Consumer appliances typically are sold along with a power adapter that is specifically designed for use with its associated consumer appliance. In particular, the power adapter is configured to supply power at the correct voltage and to not exceed the amperage tolerance of the appliance in order to avoid damaging the circuitry of the consumer appliance. Because of this fact, consumers often collect many such power adapters. If the consumer becomes confused as to which of the power adapters is intended for use with which appliance, for instance in a case in which the appliance connectors are identical, there is a danger of using the wrong adapter with the wrong appliance and, therefore, damaging the appliance.
Various providers offer power adapters that are manually configurable so that they may be used with different consumer appliances. Such power adapters permit the consumer to reduce the number of power adapters that the consumer owns in that, potentially, a single power adapter could be used with more than one consumer appliance. Despite this convenience, many consumers become confused as to how to properly use such power adapters. In particular, it is often unclear as to how to correctly adjust the power adapter so as to correctly power a given consumer appliance. For instance, the consumer may become confused as to what voltage at which to set the adapter or as to which conductor of an appliance conductor is the positive conductor and which is the negative. Such confusion again may lead to appliance damage.